The AT&T store that was for years located at 11862 Market St. in Reston Town Center has relocated a few blocks away.
Visit the new location at 1810 Library St. for phone and wireless services.
The new location, which formerly housed The Dandelion Patch until the stationary store closed it Reston spot in early 2015, is a much larger store than the Market Street storefront.
Store hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Store phone number is (571) 203-9589.
The Market Street space is currently empty. Reston Now will let you know if it sees signs of a new tenant.
Happy April Fool’s Day, Reston!
Some things were a big joke today. Others, not so much.
At Reston Town Center, the fountain was filled with inflatable pool toys Friday morning.
Last night at Reston Town Center, officials outlined the no-joke process for the paid parking system coming this summer. Reston Town Center is an “elite destination,” they said.
Over on Modern Reston, our friends followed up last year’s brilliant story about a monorail at Lake Anne with this gem about a certain golf course-owning presidential candidate taking over a certain embattled public golf course here. The indoor ski hill and tanning concierge should tip you off that it is high satire.
Here at Reston Now, we are thinking about writing future editions in invisible ink and covering Annapolis as part of our hyperlocal strategy. April Fool’s! We’re still free, here five days a week and strictly hyperlocal.
Did you pull off any great pranks today?
Photo courtesy Reston Town Center
April 1 and it’s time to think spring.
Reston Association is holding a Native Plant Sale today from 1 to 5 p.m. at Walker Nature Education Center, 11450 Glade Dr.
Gardeners can pre-order some of the plants that survive and thrive at the Nature Center. Pick up of orders will be Saturday, April 16.
Species include sun and shade-loving perennial flowers and ferns that do well in a variety of growing condition and add value to your backyard habitat. Plants are deer-resistant and neonic free.
Download this form to see what’s for sale and the prices per plant.
Fairfax County is continuing to contemplate moving the Colvin Run septage disposal site a few miles away to Hunter Mill Road, but their concerns are not necessarily the same as the haulers who make about 6,000 annual trips to the dumping tank.
County officials said in February they are considering closing the Colvin Run site, in operation for more than 40 years, and building a new one at Lake Fairfax Maintenance Area 6, a county-owned parcel on Hunter Mill Road on the Reston/Vienna border. The Colvin Run site is one of two in the county.
The county has 21,000 homes that are on septic tank and not public sewers. Those septic tanks must be cleaned out every five years, with waste hauled to Colvin Run or the Norman Cole site in the south end of the county. The septage sites are also used for restaurant grease disposal and portable toilet cleanout.
The officials say the Colvin Run site, which gets 6,000 visits annually (or about 22 trips per day), is outdated, its smells, and has a pipe too small to accommodate waste. It is also in a flood area and there is no way for trucks to turn around.
The county looked into the move after a handful of Colvin Run-area residents complained.
But the potential for the Reston-area site has many residents on this side of Route 7 very upset. Some of their concerns came to light at a community meeting six weeks ago. Among them: increase in traffic on Hunter Mill Road, which already can’t handle trucks going over a one-land bridge; proximity to home and a stream; concern that the septage dump stay closer to the 21,000 homes it serves, mostly in Great Falls and Oakton; and irritation that the move was presented as almost a done deal rather than a community input session.
The county says it researched six area sites, including renovating Colvin Run, for a new facility. The criteria: Proximity to a 30-inch sewer pipe; off a major road; outside of a floodplain; away from public use (but on county land); and an available footprint to build a secure, odor-controlled facility where trucks could drive in a loop rather than have to back up to leave.
At the meeting, they said Colvin Run could not be renovated. However, a report by environmental consultants Hazen and Sawyer, hired by the county for this project, said it may be feasible.
Paid parking at Reston Town Center is a done deal. Representatives of Boston Properties and the Reston Town Center Association explained why at a community meeting at the Hyatt Regency Reston on Thursday.
“We are an elite destination location,” RTCA Executive Director Robert Goudie said, reiterating that Boston Properties is “not a non profit location.”
As Reston Now has previously reported, Reston Town Center will go to a paid parking system this summer. Goudie and representatives of Boston Properties, which owns the town center, said the plan to install a paid system has been in the works since the town center opened 25 years ago.
Goudie told the crowd of merchants and citizens that in the original town center master plan, there was a proffer agreement that the developer would have to eventually do “transportation demand procedures.” Part of that control would be paid parking. That is a common element of transit-oriented design, he said. Read More
Orchestra Benefit — The Reston Community Orchestra is holding a Casino Night fundraiser April 9 at the Reston Community Center. Tickets are $80 ($150/couple), which includes food, drinks and a stack of playing chips. [Reston Community Orchestra]
How Are Fairfax County Police Performing? — Fairfax County Police are being reviewed by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. As part of that process, FCPD is seeking public input. [FCPD]
Reston Hospital Makes The Mark — The Bariatric Program at Reston Hospital Center has received accreditation by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP). The certification is a mark of high-quality surgical care for bariatric (weight loss) patients.
GMU Law School To Be Named For Scalia — George Mason University’s Law School will be named for late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. [ARLnow.com]
Reston’s Giving Circle of HOPE is preparing for its Empty Bowls event, the non profit’s largest annual fundraiser.
Each year since 2008, The Giving Circle of HOPE has hosted about 600 guests to Empty Bowls, which raises awareness of food insecurity and raises funds for nonprofit partner Food for Others.
Empty Bowls takes place on Friday, April 8 at Floris United Methodist Church, 13600 Frying Pan Rd., Herndon.
Tickets are $25 for adults in advance; $30 adults at door; $15 for children under 12.
Admission gets you a handcrafted pottery bowl to keep, along with a dinner of delicious soup, bread and desserts. There are also entertainment and raffle prizes.
Food for Others helps more than 2,000 people each week receive free groceries and fight hunger.
“The Empty Bowls event benefits Food for Others by building a healthier, stronger, and a more caring community,” Roxanne Rice, executive director of Food for Others, said in a release. “It is a wonderful opportunity to have local artists and some of the area’s finest chefs have their work appreciated, while making a difference to people in need.”
This year, 18 Girl Scout troops from Reston, Herndon, Oak Hill and surrounding areas, will help at the event, but volunteers are still needed.
The Giving Circle of HOPE is a Reston-based group where members donate a minimum of $365 a year. The group then offers grants of up to $7,000 to small nonprofits in the area. Last year, the Giving Circle gave away nearly $60,000 to worthy causes.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission has deferred decision on the planned $105 million addition to Herndon High School until its April 13 meeting.
The planning commission discussed the more than 100,000-square-foot addition to the school at its March 16 meeting. It moved to defer a vote, which would recommend the addition for approval to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, in order to further review proffer amendments outlined in this planning staff report.
HHS has not been renovated in more than 20 years and is at 107 percent capacity, FCPS documents show.
According to a Planning and Zoning Staff Report, the plans for HHS include 138,558 square feet of additions and modifications that will expand the school to 431,000 square feet with a capacity for 2,500 students (from 2,146).
The Herndon addition was approved and partially funded as part of the FCPS Fiscal Year 2017 – 2021 Capital Improvement Program. The CIP reflects $310 million approved by county voters in a 2015 School Bond Referendum. Countywide, FCPS plans $777 million in renovations and expansions to schools.
See specifics of the plan, which calls for 193 more parking spaces and moving and replacing some athletic facilities, in this previous Reston Now article.
Rendering of planned HHS addition/Courtesy FCPS
Delays. Fires. Offloading. A 29-hour shutdown to do repairs.
Just a typical week in the life of Washington’s Metrorail system. And now this: Metro’s top officials said on Wednesday that the transit system is in such need of repair that they might shut down entire rail lines for as long as six months for maintenance.
While Metro GM Paul Wiedefeld has not said which lines will need to be closed for repair — or for how long — he did say he was considering such lengthy closures. He said he expected to have more information within a month to six weeks.
This is less than two years since Reston’s Silver Line station opened. Rail to Reston was supposed to transform — and is still aimed at transforming — Reston into a transit-oriented community, with about a dozen residential and mixed-use projects in the pipeline built close to Wiehle-Reston East and the future Reston Town Center Metro stop (slated to open in 2020).
But it seems Silver Line riders here have not been impressed thus far. Long waits for trains, the universal Metro snafus, the expense of riding and parking and a confusing parking garage system in Reston have led to myriad complaints.
Is this the last straw for you? Are you sticking with Metro or re-evaluating your transportation options?
The SingStrong a Cappella Festival gets underway Friday at South Lakes High School, where there will be concerts, workshops, classes and more.
Among the pros at the 13th annual event: 10-time Grammy Winners, Take 6, innovators of the jazz gospel style; Diana Preisler, star of TV’s Pitch Slapped on Lifetime; Vivid Voices, the award winning contemporary choir from Germany, and winners at both the German Choral Competition and the Aarhus Vocal Festival in Denmark; Julia Easterlin, the indie live-looper featured at Lollapalooza; MAXX Factor, International Barbershop Champion Quartet featured on NBC’s The Sing-Off; and Kaila Mullady, Current World Champion Beatboxer.
The event, which runs through Sunday, consists of five concerts, an auction, and over a dozen classes and coachings. Event profits support the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease, as well as local music programs. Fans can attend single concerts, or purchase discount weekend passes which offer savings of up to 50 percent.
Visit the SingStrong website to:
See the concert schedule
See the list of classes on such topics as recording techniques, stage presence, forming and directing an a cappella group, beatboxing, copyright law, and musical arranging.
Get tickets, which range from $15 to $35. Discounted passes are available for Seniors, Students and groups of 10 or more.
Here is information from the Fairfax County Police’s Reston District Station from March 23 to March 30:
UNLAWFUL ENTRY, 11200 block of South Shore Road. A resident reported on March 22 that unknown subjects have been inside his house while it is being remodeled. Nothing was taken.
LARCENIES
9800 block of Georgetown Pike, wallet from vehicle
12000 block of Sunset Hills, backpack from business
12000 block of Greywing Square, license plates from vehicle
12100 block of Sunset Hills Road, phone from business
600 block Miller Avenue, cash and property stolen from a vehicle.
11900 block of Freedom Drive, property stolen from a vehicle.
1800 block of Fountain Drive, merchandise from business
12100 block of Sunset Hills Road, purse from business
STOLEN VEHICLES
2100 block of Astoria Circle, 2008 Nissan 350Z
11900 Freedom Dr. 2004 Honda CRV
2500 block of Peter Jefferson Lane, 2016 Toyota Camry
New Training For FCPD — Fairfax County Police have the media a peek inside their new use-of-force training this week. [WTOP]
Mid-Century Reston Signature — A look inside Hickory Cluster, one of Reston’s oldest developments and one that has the typical look of homes designed by famed architect Charles Goodman. [Modern Reston]
Help Reston Soccer — Reston Soccer Association is holding an auction fundraiser Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at Buffalo Wing Factory, Hunter Woods Village Center. Come bid on restaurant gift cards, Washington Caps and Nats tickets, merchandise and more to help raise money for the soccer league.
Meet The Chef — Get to know Adam Stein, executive chef at South Lakes Village Center’s Red’s Table. [Connection]
After a successful couple of winter sessions where the Greater Reston Arts Center introduced meditation in the midst of an art exhibit, GRACE and Beloved Yoga will team up for more.
“Contemplating Creativity,” for adults and teens takes place Wednesday, April 6 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at GRACE, 12001 Market St. at Reston Town Center.
From GRACE:
The contemplative practices in yoga that include simple movement, breath work and mental clarity offer space for creativity to expand.
Maryam Ovissi, GRACE board member and owner of Beloved Yoga Studios, will share insight into creativity, the concept of play, Lila, and how important it is for our meditation practice.
The evening will focus on exploring the importance of contemplative meditative practices for expanding creativity.
Come get inspired! If you are an artist, this workshop will offer you new tools to approach your work and process – but all who are curious are welcome!
Ages 13 and up. Free for GRACE members. $5 donation for non-members.
Email [email protected] to register.
Reston Association’s Board of Directors has asked Fairfax County Supervisors Sharon Bulova to fund a stream restoration and sanitary sewer line stabilization and maintenance project near Lake Audubon “as soon as possible.”
The county is in the process of formulating its Fiscal Year 2017 budget, and RA President Ellen Graves says that repair costs to the sewer line — owned by the county but exposed and presenting an environmental danger to Reston residents — need to be included.
The problem has been exacerbated, RA says, by runoff from FCPS’ South Lakes High School and Langston Hughes Middle School, which sit uphill from the erosion site behind Wakerobin Lane and Cedar Cove Cluster.
“This is a unique situation, which warrants a quick response from the County, the Wastewater Management System, Fairfax County Public Schools, and Reston Association,” Graves wrote in a recent letter to Bulova, Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins and other county officials.
A presentation at the January RA Board meeting showed that erosion has contributed to the exposure of eight sewer lines in the hillside leading from South Lakes Drive to Lake Audubon. Read More
Reston residents can get more information about the planned paid parking system at Reston Town Center at a meeting Thursday at the Hyatt Regency Reston.
While the meeting is aimed at town center homeowners, residents and merchants, members of the public can also attend.
This is a venue change — the meeting was previously scheduled to be at The Avant but has been moved to accommodate more people. The meeting will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Reston Now reported two weeks ago that Boston Properties, which owns Reston Town Center, will phase in a paid parking system beginning Aug. 1. Read More
